Larry Answers Fan Questions #2

This is the second in the series of Q&A I am doing with my friends, followers and fans.  I can’t answer everything simply because of the volume but I’ll answer what I can. No topic within reason is off limits. If you are interested in playing, send your questions to info@larrywinget.com.

Malcolm: I recently started an allowance for our 5 year old daughter: $1 for chores and $1 if her behavior is good for the week. I know the second dollar won’t be paid out every week. Should we ever split the payment for behavior? If she has one or two behavioral problems should it be half a dollar? Or is it all or nothing?

Malcolm, congrats on being involved and thinking in these terms. Behavior is subjective and 5 year olds have short memories. Set benchmarks along the way that she can identify with better; maybe a quarter per day instead of a dollar per week. Then ask her at the end of the day how she thinks she did for that day. Kids know when they behave and when they don’t. Get her input into her behavior and involve her in whether she thinks she deserves the quarter based on her behavior that day. She will be harder on herself than you ever will. Some days you will be a hero for saying that something she thought was a big infraction was nothing at all and she will still get the quarter and some days it will work the other way with her thinking what she did was no big deal and you will have to explain that it was a big deal, meaning she won’t get the quarter. Either way, it’s the discussion and the lessons learned by this valuable communications that make this time priceless.

Manny: What would be your advice for a young person who has good grades and could go to college, but can not afford it even with some scholarships? Is it wise to get student loans just to get a college education or better to forget about college and go to work?

Manny, that’s a tough question and there is no perfect answer. A college education does not guarantee you a job, prosperity, security or success at any level. And college is not for everyone. However, if there is a desire to go to college for a specialized area of expertise, then I encourage people to do what it takes, regardless of how long it takes. Student loans are an excellent way to do that, however, the student loan program is easy to abuse and can leave you deeply in debt. If loans are used properly and kept in check and combined with any scholarship money you can find, it can work, but I always advise to be careful! I went to college by working my butt off on a job with plenty of other side work along the way too, didn’t take any student loans and even laid out for two years in the middle just to work because I couldn’t afford to go to school until I saved up some more money. But I wanted a degree. Sometimes it is better to work and take a few classes and get your degree over time so you don’t end up with too much debt. Plus, there are many career paths that do not require a college degree. I also think that the military is an excellent path for many kids who want to work and get funding for college at the end of their service. Bottom line, don’t make it an either/or situation, you can do both even though it takes longer.

Steve: You haven’t always been doing what you do now. Was there a single thing/thought/event that made you believe in taking a new direction with your life?

Steve, I have written much about this question in most of my books. I have had several events that caused a new direction in my life. I grew up relatively poor and was embarrassed by that which focused me on creating wealth. I worked my way through college and several jobs at Southwestern Bell until I ended up with AT&T as a regional sales manager. I had a big, cushy corporate job and at divestiture of the Bell System took a buyout to pursue my own entrepreneurial aspirations. Did extremely well (for a while) at owning my own business but through a series of stupid mistakes (long story) ended up losing everything. Losing everything is a great motivator. I had written sales training material for the Bell System and knew I could be a sales trainer so I became a professional speaker. I developed into a successful motivational humorist and after ten years, while successful, hated myself and everything else in my life because it all felt like a lie. Went through a mid-life crisis in every sense of the word with the result being a change in my direction. I stopped doing the motivational crap I didn’t believe in, saying the things that others wanted me to say and being the person on stage that others wanted and expected me to be. I got honest with myself and my audiences and started telling the truth; or at least my version of the truth. The result of my becoming authentic was received very well and has developed into what you see today. My events: 1) growing up poor to getting rich. 2) going bankrupt and losing it all to becoming really rich 3) being inauthentic and miserable to discovering who I really am and learning to make a living from that. Most of my events have been money motivated and authenticity based with work being the key to changing my situation every time. Again, much more in “You’re Broke Because You Want To Be” and “Shut Up, Stop Whining & Get A Life.”

Lester: So “The Secret” — you don’t think much of that book? Please tell me what issues you have with that book.

Lester, I wrote an entire blog dedicated to the that book called, “The Secret Is A Total Load Of Crap.” Do a search of my blogs and you will see it – it’s one of my most popular blogs ever. My main complaint is the lack of emphasis on work and action. You don’t think your way to success, you work your way to success.  And the Law Of Attraction is an excuse people use to sit on their butts instead of taking action!  Remember, “What you think about, talk about, and get off your ass and do something about is what comes about!”

Bob: What business books would you recommend reading to someone who wants to start his own small business?

I get this question a lot! Especially since I wrote in one of my books about a woman on my show Big Spender where I suggested a list of ten business books to her. People want to know what those books are since I didn’t name the books. The problem is that the books change over time as new ones come along and others go out of date. Of course, you should start with my New York Times bestselling business book, It’s Called Work For A Reason. But for those who have read that book and want some other good business books, here are a few by trusted friends of mine:

Becoming A Category Of One: How Extraordinary Companies Transcend Commodity and Defy Comparison, by Joe Calloway

On My Honor, I Will: The Journey to Integrity-Driven Leadership, by Randy Pennington

The Fred Factor: How Passion In Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary into the Extraordinary, by Mark Sanborn

Collapse of Distinction: Stand out and move up while your competition fails, by Scott McKain

The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When To Quit (and when to stick), by Seth Godin

And . . .
Small Business For Dummies, by Eric Tyson and Jim Schell. Any of the Small Business Dummies books are great for a general framework.

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